Humans killing humans is not a phenomenon that society has mastered in its prevention efforts or understanding. It is a complex phenomenon. Generally, humans are becoming less violent over time – yet lethal violence is still a major problem. The root components behind homicide are manifold. As such, there exists no realistic, societal approach to mitigation that doesn’t involve the rule-of-law, formal government, law enforcement, intellectual analyses, and community / cultural efforts all in concert. The model that we are studying is The Comprehensive Homicide Initiative.

Suicide-by-firearm is the leading category for all firearms-related death. It constitutes approximately 50% of all firearms-related deaths per year. Suicides disproportionately affect middle-aged males and suicide-attempt rates are disproportionately high for the LGBTQ+ community – both key demographics in the gun-owning world. The destigmatization of mental health issues, mental health screenings, training / education, and the safekeeping of firearms during crisis are all efforts that LGO supports.

Shootings in Public, Schools, and Houses of Worship are the three subcategories that LGO will focus on. Each type has its own unique dynamics and characteristics. Our focus has begun on School Shootings: another low-volume / high-social-impact problem. We are already three years into related research and we are fully advocating for Student Threat Assessment systems. In addition, we support training, education, and a security paradigm for Houses of Worship.

Our definition of “Xenophobic” is the classic definition of disliking an out-group that has foreign traits relative to one’s own. In the American context, this means the dislike of LGBTQ+, African Americans, Asians, Middle Easterners, Latinos, and other communities-of-color. Each subset of Xenophobic Violence has its own unique dynamics and characteristics. We support some of the concepts related to robust hate-crime punishments. However, punishments are not preventatives. Since most xenophobia has moved from explicit to implicit, LGO advocates for more education on social psychology and self-defense training for marginalized communities.

The African American community is the preeminent example of the effects of intra-group, internecine violence in society. This component, in addition to the other socioeconomic and systemic inputs, gives rise to an utterly unique dynamic – and this dynamic helps to intensify exceptional violence in the urban paradigm.This includes exceptional violence against black women. LGO will place primary focus on Chicago, Detroit, and Richmond, California for solutions-modeling. We will be supporting black female empowerment programs, comprehensive street outreach programs, and self-defense training and education.

Police Shootings and police-related abuse fall into our category of low-volume / high-social-impact problems. The United States has a long history of law enforcement directly or indirectly reinforcing explicit or implicit bias and racism in enforcement practices. A measurable percentage of contemporary police misconduct can be traced to this. More progressive and socially aware policing is emerging. LGO is going to engage this evolution by advocating for emerging ideas like coresponder programs, implicit bias training, and The Use of Force Project.